Serving Changes Everything

I’ve loved serving my entire life and it’s in the DNA of who I am. As a child, I served at a transitional living facility with my family, participated in every food drive my school held, and even rang the Salvation Army bell outside Walmart! I even got my college degree in psychology and sociology because I wanted to serve and help people, but in 2016, everything changed. I signed up to serve through what’s now called Summer Food Program—while I was dripping sweat and dodging mosquitos in the midst of a Georgia summer day handing out lunches, God began to change my heart. I eventually got involved in several different types of outreach. The more I served, the more I felt my heart changing. I wasn’t just serving, I was growing closer to the Lord. Everything in my life changed from the way I interacted with people, thought about things, and lived my life. Life became an act of service and a connection point with the Lord—I was made new. A life of service is great, but a life of service with the Lord, well that’s extraordinary. Serving with the Lord fills my heart with a joy that I didn’t even know existed and I’ve been a Christian my entire life! The more I served, the closer I felt to God and the closer I felt the God, the more I wanted to serve. It wasn’t even just my heart that changed, even my relationships got better. Some of the deepest relationships I’ve built have been over bags of produce and some of the best belly laughs of my life have come from dancing with kindergarteners at Vacation Bible School. Serving alongside another person builds a connection point that you can’t get from anything else. Your calling of service might not be the same as mine. We each have our own calling as unique as we are. I want you and everything in your life to be changed by serving through your calling because a life of service is an extraordinary, joyful life.

Sarah Hobbs